Sting sued by former bandmates over hit song royalties

Carrie Peterson,
89th Academy Awards Oscars Awards Show
89th Academy Awards - Oscars Awards Show - Hollywood, California, U.S. - 26/02/17 - Singer Sting performs Best Original Song nominee "The Empty Chair". REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Gordon Sumner – better known as the rock god Sting – is being sued by former bandmates Andy Summers (guitar) and Stuart Copeland (drums) over their biggest single, Every Breath You Take.  The track won Best Song at the Grammys in 1983, and is the song with the all time most radio plays, according to BMI.

Summer said that the track was originally destined for the trash bin because the band couldn’t agree on how to get the bass and drums right on the track.  At one point, Sting abruptly left the recording studio out of frustration over the song.

Summers and Copeland aren’t seeking damages over royalties from the original release, but rather over lost royalties due to later sampling and its licensing to movies and TV, like in this episode of The Sopranos:

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